The father-and-son entrepreneurial duo who want customers to BYO food to their wine shops

For Koh, who has been in the wine and spirits trade for 35 years, with a wealth of experience spanning places such as Treasury Wines Estate, Moet Hennessy Diageo and Maxxium Singapore Fine Wines and Spirits, having his own son working alongside has taught him that there is still much to learn for the wine industry.

Koh shared: “Pre-COVID, I never believed in having an online presence. During the pandemic when our shops were closed, my marketing team warned that we’d be in trouble if we don’t crank up our presence online, so we worked hard at developing our website and building inventory there.

“Min Kai suggested that we reach out to other platforms such as Shopee. I was concerned that it would compete with our own website sales, but he insisted on trying. I said okay but inside, I was thinking it was a sure-fail,” he added, with a laugh.

To his surprise, not only did Bottles & Bottles double its own e-store sales between February 2020 and March of this year, there was also a 70 per cent increase in sales on external platforms and marketplaces such as Shopee and shopping mall e-stores between 2019 and 2020.

Despite wins like these, the younger Koh still values his father’s opinions. “Even though there are times that I may not agree with him, I always tell myself that he has 36 years of experience in the industry. When he tells me something, there must be a reason behind it,” he said, a remark that leads to his father beaming with pride.